Reversible drive mechanism



April 1949. v. B. M. MALLENTJER 2,468,453

REVERS IBLE DRIVE MECHANISM Filed Mafch 20, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Vz'cl'or, Bernard, Marie, M6118" 1:181. f A Horne I April 1949. v. E. M. MALLENTJER REVERSIBLE DRIVE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1959 Ln m V//////7////////////////////////// Invnl'or Vicl'onBernari/VarigMdl I811 (781'.

Attorney Patented Apr. 26, 1949 [1.N -Fl El) PATENT OFFICE REVERSIBLE DRIVE, MECHANISM- Victor Bernard Marie Mallentjer, Brussels, Belgium Application March 20, 1939, Serial No. 262,962

In Belgium April 12, 1938 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires April 12; 1958 P 7 Claims; (Cl. 318-.-10-) current reversingdevice in sucha manner that the "actuated traction member,- or-any member participating in-its movement causes this reversing device to functionwhen'reaching the end of its course, in each direction so-as to reverse the movement of the motor; It is also possible to make the arrangements such that the motor always turns inathe .same direction. In this case the connection-between themotorrand the drivingishaft. forthe traction-:member'is necessarilyprovidedewith v1a :mechanism: for; :reversing the transmission-which preferably acts,- byan electricalorxmechanical controL'onthe motor-itself whichsmounted ona transverse shaft, brings its driving-pinionprcone .into engagement with: one

ori-other :of. discs'keyedon oppositesides of this pinionor coneionathe said drivingshaft of the traction member. This. electricaldrive for pivoting thepmotor is-tprovidedfor. example with two electro magnets arranged in series or in'shuntfl with; the motor circuit;

A few diagrammatic examples of construction of theiinvention as. applied to. window curtains are; --il1ustrated1 in. the accompanying drawings.

Figs-.1 is-a frontview-ofithe assembly with a verticaLsection :of. the driving mechanism.

Fig-..,2 islarvertical section throughthe pivotal axisof the, electricalmotorin ig. 1.

Fig.3 isa horizontal section along the line III.-I1'.I1iof Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a diagram of the electrical connections for. the assembly of Fig. 1.

Fig-Q 5 'is adiagram of the electric circuit of a modification of the diagram-of Fig. 4.

Fig; 6 ,isadia'gram of-the electric circuit of anothermodification ofthe diagram of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a viewof theassembly of "a modification :with a non-pivoting motor, whilst- Fig-8 shows-a diagram of the electric circuit for the modification of'Fig-s '7.

Fig-'9 shows-a schematic-.view of the electric suspendedinthe known manner.

2.. connections of the motor and of the switch of still another embodiment.

Fig-101a detail of a realisation of the double switch with push-buttons-ior the switches ofthei circuit of Fig. 9.

Fig; 11 shows another detail of the,-push -but tons in-Fig. 10."

Fig. 12 'shows a schematic view of-themotor-i-ofl its container; and of the transmissions for thes modification of Fig. 9. I

Fig. 13 shows a section along theline-XIII -l XIII of ;Fi .-;12.

In Figs. 1 to 4, l indicates the metalwrail onr whichrroll rollers l from which a'curtainl is; (It is to be -ob.-,-- served that the type of suspension'referred to as; curtain rail is not limiting and that the curtain may be suspended simply from rings threaded on. a rigidrod). The singletractioncordpby which the curtain may be opened or closed, 15.?

indicated-byte It is an endless cord attached-in. the, :usual. manner to two attachingmembers sew cured tol the ends to. be connected to the two half. curtainsythetwo other ends of thesehalf cur:-

vLtainsbeing secured for example to thefrail 'l.'

Thezcordipasses around a horizontal pulley 3,. its two. ends then passing around two vertical." pulleys 4 so as finally to pass around the vertical pulley .5, turned through relatively to the pulleys 4.

The pulley 5 is keyed to the middle of asha'ft 6 rotatably mounted in a box 1. To this shaft are keyed on opposite sides of the .pulley'5, two identical friction plates 8, 8'. In the box 1' there is mounted an electric motor 9 of which the verti-- cal shaft-l0 carries at the end a small friction" cone I I, for example of special rubber. The motor is supported in unstable equilibriumby two trunnionsl2-in such a manner as to be capableof oscillating about the axis of these trunnions and thus apply-its cone H, the face of one or other plate 8, 8. The motor may carry at the bottom,- the movable parts of two electro magnets 13, 13 located in the box I, and mounted symmetrically on'opposite sides of the trunnions;

Referring to Fig; 4, switches l4 and 14' are placed onthe side of the box- I and adapted to be operated separately for opening and closing the" curtains. Each of these switches controls. the circuit ofthe motor andthus causes this motor to-turnalways in thesamedirection. I5 is the" terminalof themotor and IS 'the "ter minal, The-current passing through the closed? switchrruifirst passes through the coil 13 which causes the-motor to rock into the position'of 1 so as to bring the cone I into contact with the plate 8. This current passes through the switch IT, normally closed by tension spring I H, and reaches the terminal it. The motor rotates and advances the cord 2. When the curtain has reached the end of its corresponding course any suitable member I62 (Fig. i) secured to the curtain or to the cord 2, engages lever 34 and opens the switch l'l against the action of spring I H and holds it open as long as the curtain has not carried out a movement in the opposite direction. The circuit is thus open and the motor stops. Any fresh actuation of the switch l4 remains ineffective. When the switch I4 is closed the current passes through the coil l3" and the normally closed switch 57' so as to reach IS. The motor rocks and brings its cone l l into contact with the plate 8'. The motor, whilst rotating, produces the advance of the cord 2 in a direction opposite to that of the preceding movement until the switch I1 is opened by the curtain reaching the end of its movement and member I02 contacting lever I03 on switch l1. When the curtain has left one or other position of complete closing or opening, the two switches I7 and ll are automatically closed, which permits actuation of either of the two switches l4, M. It is only in the positions of complete closing and opening that one or other of the switches l4, I4 is inoperative. The mechanism thus permits a partial opening of the curtain or hanging.

In this example of a curtain for a bay, the box I and all the mechanism which it encloses is in fact suspended from the cord 2 so as to ensure effective tension therein at every moment. The box is provided with a rail I8 guided in a slide I9 to be fixed to the wall.

In the example of Fig. 5, which refers to the mechanism of Figs. 1-3, the two operating buttons (switches) l4, M are mounted in two circuits in series, each of which is provided with electro magnets l3, l3, the switches H, H being omitted. In this case it is necessary for the entrainment between the cone l I and the discs 8, 8' to be very soft so that the cone l l, slides on these discs when the curtain has reached the end of its stroke and the switch [4 or [4 has not been released.

In the modification of Fig. 6 there is shown a circuit mounting two bi-polar switches H4, H4 in parallel.

In the example of Figs. '7 and 8 the motor 19 is no longer pivoted in its box ll. The electro magnets are omitted and there is only one disc 18 which may be toothed, the cone H being then a small pinion H l. The motor actuated by a single switch S4, is provided in the circuit with a reversing device 20 (Fig. 8) which is controlled by the position of the curtain and reverses the direction of the current of its motor so as to reverse the direction of rotation.

The construction shown in Figs. 9 to 13 allows whatever the position of the curtain may be, or more exactly of the cable, or other traction member, to cause this traction device to move in either direction at will, then, after a short run, to modify the direction of the movement, and so on, without having to run to the end of the course.

In Fig. 9, the stator of the motor is indicated by 2! and its terminals by 22-23; the rotor is indicated by 24 and its terminals by 2525. 21 is the entering terminal of the network, the other terminal being 22. The key switch, schematised by the rectangle 28, has eight terminals: the terminal 29 connected with 21 and 30; the terminal 3! connected with 34 and with 25; the terminal 33 connected with 32 and with 26, and the terminal connected on the on hand with 23, and on the other hand with 36. The four odd terminals are set in motion together in a closed position and are connected together two by two: 29 to 3i and 33 to 35; the four even terminals are set in motion and connected in like manner in the other closed position of the switch. Fig. 10 well shows how the connections take place: when the pushbutton 3? is lowered, the insulating disc 38 lowers the two conducting strips 39 and 40 on the terminals 29, 3| and 33, 35 respectively; in this position, the circuit of the motor is established by 2l2 9-3 [-2 5rotor2 533 35 23 stator-22.

In the other closed position or the key switch, the second push-button 4| brings, by means of the insulating disc 38, the conducting strips 4344 on to the terminals 3B32 and 34-35 respectively, setting up the circuit: 2l--2930- 32-33-2 6-rotor -253 l3 436= 35 23 stator and 22.

So long as one or other of the push-buttons is lowered, the motor revolves in the direction corresponding to the signs of the poles of the rotor. To prevent having to keep the button down during the entire time of the movement, for instance, when one wishes to bring the traction device to the end of the course, one can evidently use a tumbler switch, or a drum switch, the movable devices of which remain in the position given them; in this case, one must however provide a current breaker controlled by the traction device arriving at the end of its course, this breaker only influences the circuit interested, and allows the closing of the other circuit when the circuit breakers position is changed.

In the simplified realization shown, of a circuit breaker with two push-buttons, the cover 42 of the circuit breaker carries interiorly the pivot 45 of the insulating blade 38 which is thus mounted like the beam of a balance. The two push-buttons 3'1 and M rest freely on this plate. The conducting blades 39--4t4344 act as a spring and lean elastically, by means of their free upper extremities, against the inferior face of the plate 32 (Fig. 11). Under such conditions, the simultaneous lowering of the two buttons is impossible, and when one button has been lowered and is freed, the conducting blades which are stretched cause the whole to return to the position shown.

The motor 45 is mounted in a box or container 44; it is fixed there pivoting around trunnions 48, and a spring 49 tends to cause it to pivot in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 12. The shaft of the motor carries the little friction cone 50, which is elastically applied by the spring 49, against the disc 51 situated in the box and the shaft of which 52 passes through a vertical opening 53 of the box. In this opening, the shaft carries the grooved pulley 54 around which the traction device 55 imbeds itself.

The spring, besides assuring an elastic application of the cone 56 on 5 1, allows a slipping when the traction device is at the end of the course, and allows an automatic recovery of the wear of the friction surface of the disc 50.

The box carries the terminals 22-41-25- 28-23, the conductors running to the key switch being enclosed in the sheath 55.

The box is vertically guided in a groove 58 (Fig.

13) fitted with two flanges 59 which fit in notches 60 in the side walls of the box.

The invention also provides a brake controllable by the disc so as to reduce the displacement speed of the traction device at will; in the example given, this braking is carried out but means of a buffer, or of a brake-shoe 6|, situated partly in the tube 92, fixed in a gear-case 41. A spring (:33 is fitted in this tube 62 which bears on the buffer 6| and on a washer 64; a screw 65 the head of which bulges out of the gearcase 41, is screwed more or less into the end of the tube 02 and thus allows the spring to be controlled as far as its tension is concerned, and further the intensity of the brake-power exerted by the shoe 6| on the surface of the disc 5|.

Evidently, the circuit-breaker need only carry four switch contacts, the push-button or buttons, or any other control device which would, in one position, set in motion two contact blades which connect the first switch contact with the second, and the third with the fourth, whereas in the other position, the blades would connect the first to the third and the second to the fourth switch contacts.

Any other combination of the electric circuit acting so as to either change the position of the motor (Figs. 1-3) or for reversing the direction of the current (Fig. 8) may evidently be applied. It is also possible in the case of a pivoting motor to provide a mechanical control which, influenced by the position of the curtain determines the pivoting of the motor.

This mechanism may -be applied advantageously for opening and closing suspended curtains and hangings operated up to the present by a traction cord to rigid shutters and doors, retractiles or others and in all cases where a body or surface which is rigid or not is to be moved in one direction or the other.

The friction cone only acting on the plates by an edge has the advantage of being capable of being adjusted along its shaft so as to modify the speed of the cord and to ensure a smooth operation without shocks.

Having now fully described my said invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A curtain opening and closing mechanism comprising a split curtain and an endless cord having a horizontal loop and a vertical loop, means to attach adjacent split ends of said ourtains to opposite traces of said horizontal loop, a driving pulley suspended in said vertical loop and mounted on a horizontal shaft, a frame suspended on said shaft, an electric motor mounted in said frame, means in said frame to connect said motor to drive said shaft, and means to reverse the drive of said shaft to open and close said curtain.

2. An overhead track, rollers on the track having suspension means therefrom, a pair of guide pulleys fixed with the track, an additional guide pulley fixed with the track and spaced from the pair of guide pulleys, an endless cable having a first loop from the pair of pulleys with horizontal reaches therefrom in the cable loop extent about the additional pulley, actuating connections between one of said cable reaches of the loop and the suspension means to be thereby shiftable along the track, said cable from the pair of pulleys having a depending second loop, a vertical aXis motor sustained by the second loop, transmission means from the motor to the cable second loop, and-control means to reverse the direction of the transmission from the transmission means for the cable.

3. An endless cable including two loops, a pair of pulleys spacing the loops, a pulley in each loop remote from the pair of pulleys, one of said loops having a reach with an actuated element connected thereto, a vertical axis motor sustained through the pulley in the other of said loops, transmission means from the motor to the cable at the motor sustaining pulley, and control means to reverse the direction of transmission from the transmission means for the cable.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said transmission means comprises a rolling friction contacting means.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said contacting means comprises a pair of parallel friction engaging discs and a tiltable friction roller mounted between said discs, and wherein said control means comprises a pair of electromagnets to tilt said roller.

6. The structure of claim 3 wherein said transmission means comprises a pair of intermeshing gears.

7. The structure of claim 3 wherein said control means comprises a reversing switch and a reversible motor.

VICTOR BERNARD MARIE MALLENTJ ER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 912,732 Roberts Feb. 16, 1909 1,247,732 Shelton Nov. 27, 1917 1,425,890 Merrill Aug. 15, 1922 1,499,735 Hynes July 1, 1924 1,846,687 Mentor Feb. 23, 1932 1,909,611 Charavay May 16, 1933 2,102,672 Brixey Dec. 21, 1937 2,165,754 Hornack July 11, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 301,140 Great Britain Nov. 29, 1928 

